Former Vice President Mike Pence will be honored Sunday night for thwarting Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
Pence will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award, given annually to public servants who follow their conscience regardless of consequences. Pence is being recognized for “putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on January 6, 2021,” the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum said in a statement last month.
JFK’s daughter Caroline Kennedy and grandson Jack Schlossberg were set to present the award in a ceremony to be live-streamed from the JFK Library in Boston starting at 8:30 p.m.
“Political courage is not outdated in the United States. At every level of government, leaders are putting country first, and not backing down,” the pair said in the statement. “Despite our political differences, it is hard to imagine an act of greater consequence than Vice President Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 presidential election during an attack on the U.S. Capitol.”
Senate Television via AP, File
Vice President Mike Pence speaks as the Senate reconvenes after protesters stormed into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Senate Television via AP, File)
The former Vice President, who was threatened with hanging by the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on that day, said he was “deeply humbled and honored” to receive the award, especially given his longtime admiration of JFK.
“I have been inspired by the life and words of President John F. Kennedy since my youth and am honored to join the company of so many distinguished Americans who have received this recognition in the past,” Pence said in the JFK library’s statement.
Others honored for upholding the election’s integrity include Arizona Republican House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers and former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, both in 2022.
Pence has continued to advocate in support of democracy and maintaining U.S. alliances, and the political action group he founded, Advancing American Freedom.
With News Wire Services
